Describe something you do to stay healthy

這張題卡的準備方式

這張題卡（cue card）看起來像生活型態的問題，但考官真正在檢驗的是，你能不能用具體、自然的細節描述一種日常習慣，而不是籠統的建議。常見的陷阱是像在寫健康雜誌文章那樣回答，例如「exercise is important because it keeps you fit」，而不是描述你自己的習慣。最安全的切入點是小而具體的事：每天短短的散步、少吃某種食物、睡前伸展、騎腳踏車上班。你不需要戲劇性的體態改造故事；一個你能用具體句子描述的習慣，比一個野心很大、卻只能含糊描述的習慣更有價值。

選一件你實際在做的事，即使很不起眼也沒關係，因為題卡接著會問你是怎麼開始的、它如何幫助你，這些問題誠實回答，比編造容易得多。如果你真的沒有任何固定習慣，就選你有的最健康的習慣，哪怕只是比以前多喝水，再圍繞它組織回答。

至於時間分配，用大約20秒說出這個習慣和你多久做一次，用30～40秒說明你是怎麼開始的，其餘的時間說明它如何對你有幫助。「and explain」那一行是你展現更廣的文法和詞彙的地方，因為它要求的是理由和結果，而不只是單純的事實。

讓回答更出色的詞彙

1分鐘準備計畫

在1分鐘的準備時間裡，可以寫下：

• what: evening walk, 30 minutes, park near flat
• how often: most days, five or six times a week
• how it started: doctor mentioned blood pressure, small scare
• how it helps: sleep better, clearer head, stamina up
• closing: cheap, no equipment, easy to keep up

範例回答

以下是這張題卡完整回答的一種寫法，用來示範結構和程度，不是要你照背。你自己的日常習慣聽起來會不一樣，這也沒關係。

Something I do fairly consistently to stay healthy is take a thirty-minute walk in the evening, usually around the park near my flat. I try to do this most days, maybe five or six times a week, unless the weather is really against me. I actually started doing it almost by accident — a couple of years ago I had a routine check-up, and the doctor mentioned, almost in passing, that my blood pressure was a little higher than it should be for someone my age. It wasn’t an emergency, but it was enough of a wake-up call that I decided to build some kind of movement into my day. I didn’t want to commit to a gym membership I might not keep up, so I eased into it with something low-pressure: just walking, no equipment, no cost.

What surprises me is how much it helps beyond the physical side. I sleep noticeably better on days I’ve walked, and I find I have a clearer head afterwards, which has had a knock-on effect on my concentration at work. My stamina has improved too, though that was never really the goal. If anything, it’s become the part of my day I look forward to most, partly because it forces me to switch off from my phone for half an hour.

這張題卡的常見錯誤

• 泛泛地談運動，例如「exercise is good because…」，而不是你自己的具體習慣。
• 一次塞進三種習慣（飲食、健身房和睡眠），結果沒有任何一個得到充分發揮。
• 完全跳過「how you started」這個要點，白白失去運用過去式敘述的簡單機會。
• 以平淡的話收尾，例如「it keeps me healthy」，而不是具體的個人好處。